On 29 October, Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Evaldas Ignatavičius attended the Conference on “Prospects for Eastern Partnership: How to Reconcile the EU’s Offer with its Neighbours’ Expectations?” in Warsaw, where he presented Lithuania’s plans and preparations for the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November 2013.

At the conference, Ignatavičius also discussed major challenges in the Eastern Partnership region, possibilities to promote cooperation between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries, and support to the EU integration process.

“The Eastern Partnership initiative has brought together those European countries that were divided by the totalitarian regimes in the last century,” the Vice-Minister stressed.

The event also discussed the implementation of joint projects with Eastern Partnership countries in the fields of energy, transport, border management, the European cultural heritage, and opportunities to strengthen civil society in the Eastern Partnership countries.

The Polish Institute of International Affairs organised this conference in cooperation with the Lithuanian Embassy in Warsaw and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

During his visit, Ignatavičius also held meetings with Jaromir Sokołowski, the Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of Poland, and Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, the Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. The conversations focused on the situation in Eastern Europe after the elections in Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine, the implementation of the Eastern Partnership, and other international issues.

The Eastern Partnership is among key priorities of Lithuania’s Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2013. Lithuania’s Presidency is to host the 3rd Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius.